Statue of limitations: No place in the city for men we'd rather forget

By Benjamin Millar

18 September 2018 — 3:45pm

Twin statues of Melbourne's founding fathers have nowhere to call home with developers refusing to return them to a rebuilt and redesigned CBD plaza and the city council turning its back on them and the troubled civic history they represent.

A pair of sculptures of John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner stood side by side in front of the National Mutual building in Collins Street for almost 40 years.

Sculptor Michael Meszaros with a maquette of his 1978 sculpture of John Pascoe Fawkner.Credit:Scott McNaughton

The works were originally commissioned in 1978 by the City of Melbourne but they now belong to CBUS, which has told Melbourne sculptor Michael Meszaros – who cast the Fawkner sculpture – that it has no intention of returning them to their former home.

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The impasse comes after Australian artist Ben Quilty called for Batman's statue to be permanently removed from Melbourne's CBD, describing him as a mass murderer who "makes the American Confederates look friendly".

The Statue of John Batman ithat stood n the forecourt of the Suncorp Building on the corner of Collins and William streets.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

Meszaros fears both patriarchs will be tarred with same brush. “I know Batman is on the nose, but Fawkner’s reputation is still intact,” he said.

The two settlers were rivals from the earliest days of settlement, both arriving at what is now Melbourne in 1835, though their later lives dramatically diverged.

Batman’s life spiralled towards an ignominious end, ravaged by syphilis and ostracised by the white community.

Fawkner prospered, and in 1856 was elected to the first Parliament of the self-governing colony of Victoria.

The Fawkner statue that once stood - or squatted - in Collins Street.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

Meszaros said he worked with fellow sculptor Stanley Hammond on the sculptures to contrast and complement one another.

“I wanted to give [Fawkner] some Australian character, rather than some pseudo-British hero, so rather than claiming the land I drew him squatting.”

Meszaros said CBUS had offered to return the sculpture to him but he would strongly prefer to see it find a new public home.

The artist said he couldn’t imagine a city like Florence simply removing a landmark statue and placing it in storage with no plans for its return or relocation.

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“These sculptures became part of the local culture.”

A City of Melbourne spokeswoman said it has no intention to buy or accept the gift of either of the statues.

Mr Meszaros said he has nowhere to put the statue and is inviting anyone interested in taking it on to be in touch via his website.

Coincidentally another piece of Melbourne's civic artscape, the 1865 statue of explorers Robert Burke and William Wills, is also nowhere to be seen, having been moved into storage late last year to make way for work on the Metro Rail Tunnel in City Square.

The statue of explorers Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills has also been moved.Credit:Leigh Henningham